The First Months Of Life

May 09, 1986

Intrigued by a suggestion from a coworker, Tribune photographer Anne Cusack decided to record on film the first year and a half of development of her baby boy.

Thinking about her friends` children, Cusack said she realized how quickly babies grow into toddlers. So her camera accompanied her and her husband, Richard Derk (who also is a professional photographer), from the first day of their son`s life.

George Torrey Derk was born Sept. 9, 1984, at Prentice Hospital in Chicago, weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces.

George`s changes were recorded in a makeshift photo studio at home.

``The challenge of it all was the discipline it took to take time from my busy life as a new mother,`` Cusack said. ``The journey of my son`s first year and a half has been a fascinating one as he grew from a totally dependent babe to a walking, talking toddler.

``It is not a unique journey as all parents share in this same experience; but it is uniquely shared by each parent with their own child.